Sideshow Golden Fertility Idol Review

thanks for the review!

I'm in the 99% who will be happy with it I think...

Looks good to me, I never wanted to drop $500 on an Idol anyway

For me, at some point the "law of diminishing returns" kicks in...This is a great price point

I bought one of Bluefive's idols at least a year ago, it still sits in storage and hasn't been painted or finished at all...I like that this can be instantly displayed (that's not a knock on Bluefive, his idol is KILLER...i'm just lazy and not a talented finish artist!...:lol)

my $.02...:)

brad
 
I bought one of Bluefive's idols at least a year ago, it still sits in storage and hasn't been painted or finished at all...I like that this can be instantly displayed
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I think you've moved up a bit with the Sideshow idol. With all respect to Bluefive, I was never a fan of his idol at all.
 
I'm in Brad and Jason's camp. Jason spoke quite well when he summed it up saying they have not offered anything at all to "move the bar" on this prop - nothing new.

I may have bought it myself, actually, but I already have a plated, mouth-turned-down "eBay" idol. If I could get a second for cheap (under $100) for my full sized figure display (yes - that will be finished someday!) I would; maybe.

Don't you suppose LFL simply didn't WANT a more accurate version? Could be any number of reasons why a bettter idol wasn't offered, but most likely it was one of three:
1. Intentionally did the less accurate version
2. Didn't care and was lazy
3. SS wasn't able to do it (isn't the original in pretty sad shape now?)

Regarding #2, remember Sideshow is a business first and last, not a fan-base or collectors like we are. We tend to put them (and other licnesees) on pedastals expecting unreasonable standards. You know - like our standards!
 
agent5 said:
I think you've moved up a bit with the Sideshow idol. With all respect to Bluefive, I was never a fan of his idol at all.
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Why not? The idol is easy to modify, which I did. Of course I'd have preferred if I did not have to fill in the weird chin line myself, or if blufive did not add those lines around the eyes to begin with, but you can fill that in, make modifications (i.e. modify upper lip, change the "flat head" etc.) and you have a cheap and - most importantly - hollow idol to put some glass eyes in.

Of course I'd love to pick up a hollow cast of a Gobler idol, but that obviously isn't going to happen, and I am myself not ready to throw out 500$ (or is it closer to 600$?) when I can mod a blufive idol and add glass eyes.


PHArchivist said:
Don't you suppose LFL simply didn't WANT a more accurate version?
[...]
We tend to put them (and other licnesees) on pedastals expecting unreasonable standards. You know - like our standards!
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That might be possible, but then again, that's the reason I won't buy the idol. If they sell all of them (which I don't doubt), then great for them, but if they want the real collector to buy one of these idols, it should have been a step above the usual "ebay idol". I for one am happy with my (heavily modified) blufive idol for now. And I don't think the sideshow idol is a step up either, unless you don't do any modifications to the blufive idol.

Cheers!
Xhiwar
 
Wow, Jedifyfe, thanks a ton for the pictures! That really helps me make a decision.

I did some screengrabs of the idol from the movie, just for comparison.

I like Gobler's idol for the detail in the baby, but I like the color tone of the SS idol. It looks more gold to me, while Gobler's looks a little bit on the brass side. I think Gobler's mouth is closer to the movie, but to me it looks like the movie idol's mouth droops down a little more.
idolfront.jpg


idolside.jpg
idolrear.jpg


Your pics have convinced me to get the SS idol.
I'll probably end up selling the base once I get it.
 
Jinyo said:
I like Gobler's idol for the detail in the baby, but I like the color tone of the SS idol. It looks more gold to me, while Gobler's looks a little bit on the brass side.

I think Gobler's mouth is closer to the movie, but to me it looks like the movie idol's mouth droops down a little more.
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The Gobler Idol is vacplated by the same company that did the original idol from Raiders so it is the correct tone. You are correct that the SS idol is truly gold and Goblers is actually a little more yellow, but that is how the original idol was. In fact the original idol was also pitted with air bubble and imperfections that show up on screen ever so slightly.

As for the mouth on the Gobler. From the straight on shot you can't see it but I have a comparison shot I'll post later that shows that the Gobler idol is 99% spot on to the original idol.

An issue that hasn't been brought up about the SS is the size. It is shorter and "squatier" than the Gobler and screen shots. Almost like the sculptors were using altered photo references.

What we are talking about is the difference between collectors that are happy with licensed props that have the never touched look or collectors that prefer screen accurate props that look a little worn (ie: weathered Obi-Wan saber with original parts or MR's Obi-Wan's as first built saber). Personally I would be fine with the AFB saber but I want a more accurate idol.
 
Is there a reason why we hardly see any idols that have the realistic glass eyes? Did all the idols in the movie have the glass eyes, or just a few shots?
 
I understand the nostalgia of having the same plating co. do the plating but after seeing how the screen used plating has held up over the years i'm glad they didn't touch the SS idols.
The screen used idol really does have a slight frown to it at various angles. (Thanks for the pics Jenyo) My question for Jedifyfe is this, is there an angle that the SS idol doesn't look so frowny? Is there an angle on the Gobler that shows a slight frown? Just curious since we're comparing.
Being one of those who doesn't have an Idol i can't wait to get my SS version.
Stole these Prop store pics off the web, if you own them and want them removed , PM me. I will comply.
FrownMedium.jpg

prop-store.jpg
 
Zombie Killer said:
My question for Jedifyfe is this, is there an angle that the SS idol doesn't look so frowny? Is there an angle on the Gobler that shows a slight frown?
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Not sure about the SS mouth but I will see.

As for the Gobler, yes. The "frown" you see is not really a frown as it is the optical illusion of the bottom lip protruding out and casting a shadow and playing with the reflective light. This is even more apparent when it was plated and therefore more reflective.

If you see the head-on shot of the Propstore "original" Idol, you can clearly see the mouth is barely frowning if at all. The bottom of the mouth almost goes straight across.

Look at the difference of these two mouths on the same idol. The lower the angle of the photo, the more extreme the mouth looks to be frowning:

img3med.jpg

browneyedidol.jpg
 
I would be interested in picking one of these up for the base and selling the idol. Or buying the base off someone else. PM me with an offer if you'd like.
 
Mmm I will probably get one for the shelf no one who comes here and sees it will know any difference between it and the screen version (if any RPF members visit I'll cover it up :lol )
 
Here is the comparison photo. Now understand that I tried to match the correct angle on this shot but it's not perfect:

Idol20eyes5comparison.jpg
 
I think the color of the SS idol is spot on to the SU one. The Gobbler is too "yellow".

Yeah, I said it!
Come and get me!
 
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